My dad has been smoking for ten years. In fact, I can't remember a time when he didn't smoke. I've always tried to make him quit after watching TV commercials or learning in school about the harmful effects of smoking. Even though he has trouble quitting, there is one thing I truly admire about him. What I admire about him is that he keeps our home a smoke-free home and in doing so, a wise, healthy, and respectable one as well.

I remember sitting in class one day while my teacher was going through a lesson about smoking. She compared pictures of lungs from a non-smoker and a smoker. The smokers'lungs were completely black. She then began to talk about all the dangers of smoking. Bad breath, yellow teeth, cancer, and death were some of the horrible dangers we learned about that day. Pretty recently, while watching my favorite cartoon, I saw a commercial about a man who had been smoking for twenty-five years. His lungs and throat were so badly damaged that he had to breathe through a hole in his neck. Cancer, death, and breathing through a hole in my neck are experiences that I can live without. My father feels the same way.

My father has never smoked in my house. Even when it was freezing outside, my father would go outside to smoke a cigarette. Although he himself smoked, he never wanted me to experience the awful consequences of second hand smoke. I remember telling him about what I learned in school and saw in TV commercials. He responded by telling me that starting smoking was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life. He also told me to remember about how he had never smoked in the house. He said the main reason he didn't smoke in the house was to protect our family. Since he tried to protect us from second hand smoke, he expected me to protect myself by never smoking. I intend to meet this expectation.

My father's actions of not smoking in the house show his respect for the health of our family. His words and advice about smoking are signs of his wisdom and devotion to the well being of our family. His actions and works towards smoking make my home a healthy, wise, and respectful home. Our home is smoke-free and instead it is full of good health, wisdom, and most importantly, love.